Reversible lower bookcase base frame



March 17, 1970 w. c. LOWE. JR., T

REVERSIBLE LOWER BOOKCASE BASE FRAME Filed Feb. 27, .1968

INVENTORS' WILLIAM C. LOWE, JR.

FRANCIS H. ASBURY JESSE E. MILLIKEN United States Patent O 3,500,768 REVERSIBLE LOWER BOOKCASE BASE FRAME William C. Lowe, Jr., Francis H. Asbury, and Jesse E. Millikan, High Point, N.C., assignors to Alma Desk Company, High Point, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Feb. 27, 1968, Ser. No. 709,583

Int. Cl. A47f 7/00 U.S. Cl. 108-1 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lower adjustable and reversible base frame for a library bookcase having a plurality of substantially horizontal shelves, the frame supporting a lower shelf member in a first position substantially horizontal and parallel to the other bookshelves or in a second position wherein the shelf is rearwardly inclined to support books thereon in a more viewable position.

BACKGROUND, BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to bookcase shelves for storing and displaying books and like materials and is particularly concerned with an angularly adjustable and reversible base frame that supports the lower shelf, which frame with the carried shelf, may be positioned to retained books in the bookcase in the same conventional manner in which books are held on other adjacent shelves or in a rearwardly inclined position wherein the book titles may be viewed by a reader standing erect without he or she experiencing the inconvenience and strain of bending or stooping to read the book titles of books maintained on a conventional and substantially horizontal lower shelf.

Library books are shelved usually in large bookcases of wood or metal having varying quantities of shelves which utilize all space reasonably available and yet keep the stored books generally accessible to patrons of the library. The precise physical arrangement of the books within the shelves, particularly in regard to symmetry, alignment and exposure, is usually at the discretion of the librarian in charge so long as the books are filed in accordance with a conventional classification system. Accordingly, the individual preferences of librarians will dictate whether or not shelved books are uniformly displayed or are displayed in a manner to make certain physical operations and manipulations more convenient to patrons of the library.

A commonly variable structural feature in a great number of public and private library bookcases is the bottom or lower bookcase shelf primarily because it is oftentimes extremely difiicult for a library patron to read conveniently the titles of books positioned on this shelf when these books are supported in the same manner as books held on the other, higher shelves. Consequently, it is oftentimes necessary for the patron to stoop or bend to read the titles of the books positioned along the lower shelf, this being particularly true in the majority of li braries where the aisles are relatively narrow and prevent one from retreating sufliciently from the bookcase to 3,500,768 Patented Mar. 17, 197 0 read the book titles on the lower shelf from an erect or standing position.

In an effort to overcome this undesirable feature, many bookcases are constructed so that the base frame supporting the lowermost shelf is permanently secured at a rearwardly inclined angle with respect to the floor, thus insuring that the books are exposed in a manner that will permit a library patron to view and discern book titles from a standing position. Unfortunately, once the base frame supporting the lowermost shelf of a bookcase is installed, the library is committed to its exclusive use unless a completely new lower base frame member is constructed or the existing member radically altered, either step resulting in a rather significant expenditure simply to eliminate one feature incompatible with the taste of a particular librarian.

The present invention has been developed to overcome the drawbacks of those permanently constructed tilted or inclined lower shelves and includes an adjustable and reversible base frame which supports a shelf member, the assembly being releasably securable to the side support members or standards of the bookcase to retain the shelf in a horizontal and substantially parallel position with the other shelves of the bookcase or to retain that shelf member in a rearwardly inclined position in the event that configuration is desired. Thus, a single supporting base frame for the lower shelf is provided which will give maximum flexibility, provided optimum versatility, and accommodate the particular desires of the individual librarian.

From the foregoing it can be seen that one of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide an adjustable and reversible lower shelf for a library bookcase which can be positioned in a conventional horizontal manner or reversed to assume a rearwardly inclingd position in the event such a configuration is desire Another object of the present invention is to provide a convertible lower shelf having a uniquely constructed base frame which can be reversed within the side supporting members of the shelf to assume the position desired.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a lower adjustable shelf for a library bookcase of the type described of simple and economic construction which will avoid the undesirable inflexibility heretofore presented by the permanency of the lower shelf.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a perspective, sectional, fragmentary and exploded view of a library bookcase embodying the adjustable and reversible lower base frame and shelf of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective, fragmentary, exploded, sectional and enlarged view of the construction details of the adjustable and reversible lower base frame and shelf for a library bookcase embodying the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational, sectional and fragmentary view of the adjustable and reversible lower base frame and shelf for a library bookcase embodying the present invention showing the shelf in the rearwardly inclined and secured position.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational, sectional and fragmentary view of the adjustable and reversible lower base frame and shelf for a library bookcase embodying the present invention showing the shelf in the substantially parallel and horizontal secured position relative to the other adjacent shelves of the bookcase.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, a library bookcase generally designated of conventional construction has a number of vertically extending side support members 12 which support a plurality of substantially horizontal and parallel connecting shelves 14 by conventional height adjustment means 16. The bookcase 10 accommodates a lower angularly adjustable shelf 18 supported by a base frame generally designated 20 which connects the side members 12 in a manner subsequently to be described and has a forward member 22 and a rearward member 24, the forward member having a height h greater than the height h of the rearward member 24. The forward and rearward members are connected at their ends by a pair of trapezoidal side members 26 so that a frame like that illustrated in FIG. 1 is formed.

The lower shelf 18 is releasably secured at each end 31, by conventional means such as screws 30 or the like, to the trapezoidal members 26 such as shown in FIG. 2. As most clearly shown by FIGS. 3 and 4, screws 30 can be received in either of the opposed shelf support surfaces of trapezoidal side members 26, depending upon the manner by which members 26 are secured to side support members 12. The screw-receiving apertures 32 within the ends 31 of shelf 18 should be sufficiently large to permit easy passage of the screws to prevent scarring or damaging of the shelf 18 during a position change.

The base frame 20 is secured to the vertically extending side support members 12 by removable screws 34 or bolts, possibly as shown in FIG. 1, which extend through the openings 36 of trapezoidal side members 26 into or through openings 12a provided in the support members 12. Again the screw-receiving apertures 36 should be of sufiicient size to allow easy access and removal of the screws or bolts whenever a repositioning of the lower shelf is desired.

The particular construction of the lower shelf and especially the base frame 20 permits selective positioning of the lower bookcase shelf in the manner in FIGS. 3 and 4 whereby the shelf 18 is detached by removing the screws or bolts 30 securing the shelf to side members 26 of base frame 20, and the base frame is then disconnected from the side support members 12 by removing screws 34 from opening 12a of side members 12. Assuming the lower shelf was placed initially as shown in FIG. 3 in a rearwardly inclined position and it is desired that this shelf be relocated to a conventional, level and parallel location, as shown in FIG. 4, it is only necessary to reverse the base frame 20 by turning it over, end to end, while maintaining forward member 22 to the front of the bookcase, thus placing the trapezoidal side members 26 in an opposite relationship against the side support members 12 than that which was previously maintained. By so reversing the base frame 20, it is then aligned in the manner shown in FIG. 4. Thus the screws or bolts 34 can be reinserted through the openings 36 and into or through openings 12a of the side support members 12 to maintain the base frame and supported shelf 18 in a substantially parallel and level position. Shelf 18 is then rescured to the opposed surface of each side member 26 by screws 30.

When the lower shelf 18 and base frame 20 are secured in either of their two possible positions, the side support members 12, the base frame forward member 22 and the shelf 18 all have planar surfaces or edges 38, 40 and 42 which lie substantially in a common plane. This plane actually constitutes the leading edge or display front of the bookcase. Placing the base frame forwardly so that the forward member 22 is substantially flush with side support members 12 avoids a recess at the lower front of the bookcase which might otherwise collect debris and provides an attractive front for the unit.

While the shelf construction described is best adapted for use as the lowermost shelf in library and institutional bookcases because of the visual inaccessibility normally experienced with the placement of books on a conventional and substantially horizontal lower shelf by patrons of the library, it will be obvious to those skiled in the art of bookshelf design that similar constructions can be used on a number of the shelves in the same bookcase structure. The shelves can be angularly supported between the standards to the degree necessary to provide the patron with a direct undistorted view of the titles of books held on these particular shelves. Additionally, a frame could be constructed for those shelves located near the top of the bookcase so that the shelf could alternatively .be sloped forwardly and contain a small retaining lip along the shelfs forward edge to permit the library patron to view easily the titles of the books positioned on these uppermost shelves. It is equally apparent that many modifications may be made in the construction of the base frame, particularly in the lower shelf structure and the various securing means without departing from the real spirit and purpose of this invention. Such changes, including the use of equivalents to those components herein illustrated, are contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable shelf for a bookcase having vertically extending side support members and substantially horizontal and parallel connecting shelves comprising: a base frame releasably secured to the side members and having a first shelf support surface, on one side of said base frame, substantially horizontal and parallel with other bookcase shelves when said frame is in a first secured position and having a second shelf support surface, on the opposite side of said base frame, sloping rearwardly when said frame is in a second secured position; and a self member carried by either of said first and second shelf support surfaces maintaining supported books consistent with books contained by the other bookcase shelves when said frame is in the first secured position and maintaining supporting books in an inclined position when said frame is in the second secured position.

2. The adjustable shelf as claimed in claim 1, said frame being releasably mounted in the first secured position or the second secured position by reversing the frame member, end for end, to present alternate end portions of the frame to the respective side support members.

3. The adjustable shelf as claimed in claim 1, said frame having a forward member and a rearward member, said forward member having a height greater than the height of said rearward member.

4. The adjustable shelf as claimed in claim 1, said frame having a forward member and a rearward member and trapezoidal side members connecting said forward and rearward members.

5. The adjustable shelf as claimed in claim 1, said frame having a forward member and a rearward member, said forward member having a height greater than the height of said rearward member, and trapezoidal side members connecting said forward and rearward members.

6. The adjustable shelf as claimed in claim 2, said frame having a forward member and a rearward member, said forward member having a height greater than the height of said rearward member, and trapezoidal 5 side members connecting said forward and rearward members.

7. The adjustable shelf as claimed in claim 6 further comprising removable means releasably connecting said trapezoidal members to the side support members.

8. The adjustable shelf as claimed in claim 7 further comprising removable means releasably securing said shelf member to said frame upper surface.

9. The adjustable shelf as claimed in claim 8, said shelf member, the side support members and said forward member having a surface lying substantially in a common plane defining the display front of the bookcase.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner G. O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner 

